Cane-milling apparatus



-May 13, 1930. I N. KAY 1,

CANE MILLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 29, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 13,1930. N KAY 1,758,445

CANE MILLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 29, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedMay 13, 1930 NORMAN KAY; or JOBOS, some nice CANE-MILLING A PARATUSApplication filedSeptember 29, 1827 -Serial Nox222;896.

My invention relatesto eaneinilling apparatus, and more particularly toarotary cane knife designed for use in a canemillfor preparingtheicanefor subsequent crushing'and I Bfjuicelexpressing operations.

A canemillgenerally includes one ormore preliminary Crushers in theformof cooperating pairs of rotary toothed rolls, whichcrush anddisintegrate-the cane, which then passes through a tandem ofthree-rollmills, between therolls'of-which-the cane is heavilypressed toextract the juice. Thecane actedon by the preliminary crusher isgenerally inthe form of v a relatively deep tangled blanket of canestalks; and considerablepower is required to drive the crusher inhandling this blanket.

In order to reduce :the =-a1nou1'1t of. power necessary to drive theprelimiary crusher,

and to bring about ai thorough" disintegration of the oanaatan early-stage iii-its passage through the mill,-so that the subsequent juiceexpressing operations may .be efliciently carried out, it -has been,proposed @to use a series s ofirotatable Fkn-ives,'-for cutting up thecane 2 before-itreaches the prelimin'ary crusher in order thatthe caneacted on-by "tlie latter-may be reduced to a somewhatshredded condition,whereupon it will feed through the crusher more readily and permit thecrusher to nlore thoroughly separate the fibers of the cane. "ihe caneis =usually. carried to the mill by in'eans of an endless beltfandrotary knives have been'mounted above such belt, so as to engagethe'cane as it passes to the mill. The knife contemplated .in thepresent invention is'in. general of the above mentioned type, and

may beused if desiiedfto act on cane while supported on a conveyor'andpassing to a preliminary crusher, and the invention has for itsprimary object a'knife capable of op erating on'the cane'm'orepreviously'known.

The knivesused heretofore have been pro- 'vided*wi th smooth cuttingedges which are intended to slice into 'the cane and out it intofragments. Fhis arrangement of'knives is *effective to a degree'i-nbringing about acondition of *thecane blanket where it may be"HIOIQGfllCIQH'bl'Y acteden by the. crusher rolls,

but it has not produced the expected results efficiently than those asregards the'improvement of the millin Knives of the kind ordinarily usedare aptto strike'the cane stalks with glancing blows, theeffect of whichupon the cane body as a whole is negligible. My present inventioncontemplates the production of a power driven cane knife whichpreliminarily shreds the incoming mass of cane to a very consider abledegree, and thereby materially reduces the amount of work to be done bythe rolls following the knives, so that in manycases the number of rollsin a given canemillcaiibe .reduced to advantage if-my'cane knife is usedfor preliminary treatment of thecane.

In a more specific aspect-,it is a further obect of the invention toprovide a knife of tlie abovetype, having a cutting edge provided withaserles'of serrations or notchesadapted 'to'hook into the cane and shredit, Inaddition Fig. 4c is a fragmentary viewofthe cutting edge of theknife shown in Fig. 3.

i Fig. 5, is a fragmentary View of a niodification; and I V p Fig. 6 isa fragmentary view of the cutting edge of aknife shown ii -Fig. 5. y p IV Referring to the drawings in which I have showna preferred embodimentof my invention, the reference numeral 5 indicates in general. a portionof a cane milhincluding as a part thereof a'conveyer 6, provided with anendlessbelt 7, having secured on the outer surfacethereof a series ofslats 8, adapted to *cOnduct cane to a preliminary crusher 9,

which may be of any well-known or preferred type. The conveyer 6 isprovided with side walls 10, adapted to prevent the escape or" canefromthe mill, and above the side walls is a rotaryshat't 11, mounted inbearings 12 and 13, supported in any suitable manner on the mill 5,01onany convenient or adjacent support.

from the direction of movement of the knire,i

and provided with a cutting edge 19, which is i nterrupted by notches orserrations 20, eacn notch or seri'ation'having aycane engaging face 21,substantially at right angles or normal to the cutting edge ofthe blade,and another face 22 extending towardsIthe shank and intersecting thecutting edge of the blade at an acute angle. The edges-of the races 21are bevel d as at 21 to provide relatively v l1 4 sharp cutting edges.The rotary shart 11 may be driven in any suitable manner, and above theconveyor 6 and partially surrounding the "prevent any pieces-of canelrombeing rotary knives 16 is a shield 23 adapted to out o'tjthe mill by therotating knives,

In the form shown in Figs. 0

gradually sloping surfaces 22F, but the a shoulders 21? in this case arenot beveled or chamfered. In both cases, however, the

abrupt. shoulder is directed away from the.

tree'end of the knife and tacestoward the axis of rotation and presentsa cane penetrating edge of some width, disposed generally transverselytothe kn fe and to the line.

of travel of the cane bony. As shown in the drawings, the active orleading marginal edge portion ofthe knife blade is beveled or cut awayat opposite sides so as to be reduced in thickness towardthe extremeedge. The I i I 7 1 J. leading edge toward the heel is shaped to cut inalengthwise direction OIIlY'bllt the leading edge of the; curved outerend portion is cut away (as shown inFig. {l or in Fig. 6) to present aplur-ality oi the transverse pro ections alternating with whichare shortlongi- 'tudinally cutting portions formed leaving the beveled edge uncutat those points.

In operation, sugar cane is'carried by the Y J conveyor belt 7, andtheslats 8 thereon, to the i prel minary crusher 9,; passingv under therotary knives 16, which extend into the conveyor to a point closelyadjacent the slats def the belt 7, and are rotated at a relatively highQ speed. The cutting edges 19 ofthe blade 16 engage the cane to cut itup into pieces, the teeth t'ormed by the notch-es 20 ofthe bladeshooking into the cane and. tearing it and shredding it, in addition tothe normal cutbill own 7 and 6, the

notches 2O are in generalo t the same shape 1 and disposition as thenotches 20fpreviously described,having abrupt shoulders 21 and ting andchopping action of the blade. The notches orserrations are so formed asto provide on each revolving blade or arm a plurality of claws, spacedapart longitudinally of the arm, which repeatedly engage and tear apartthe stalk portions supported on the belt 7 to the preliminary crusher isof con-' siderable depth and the rotating knives 16 are so arranged inthe conveyor 7 as to cut into the blanket of the cane to'quite a depth,

in order that substantially all of the blanket maybe acted on andshredded by. the

knives. In practice, it has been found that itis desirable toseparate'the knives 16 from the slats 8 about 8 inches, although thisdistance may be varied tosuit conditions;

By shredding the cane previous to its being acted on by thepreliminarycrusher, the

amount of power necessary to drive the crusher s reduced, and the canemore thoroughly disintegrated atan early stage in it's'passage throughthe mill, wherebythe juice expressing OPQIEtt-IODS may be moreel'iciently carried out. a a Inpractice, my improved cane knife hasshredded toa quite complete and satisfactorydegree the entire body ormass of cane moving toward the, mill on the conveyor. This I ascribe tothe serration oi the kiiife blades, and more particularly to the factthat the blades are provided with a plurality of transverseca'neshredding edges located at the edge of the bladein' planeswhich areapproni mately normal to the plane of the ade itself. Theseshreddmg'edges grip, bite into and tear apart the cane stalks,whichlie-upon the conveyor in a dense mass so as to offereli'ec'tive-resistance and prevent displacement of the stalks away fromthe rearwardly bent or curved tips of the blades. This shredding actionis in addition to the cutting or chopping action produced bythe cuttingedge with which the notches or serrations are associated, but thisordinary cutting edge running lengthwise of the blade is not essentialin all aspects oi" the invention.

- Owing to the location 01' the knife so that the blade tips extend intoclose proximity to the conveyer, and so that the blades penetratesubstantially to the lowermost layer of cane onthe conveyer, the entiremass of cane on the conveyer is subjected to the shredding action andquite uniformly shredded. As a result, it has been possible to feed thecane into the mill in a considerably disintegrated condition, thusdecreasing the amount of work to be done by the mill rolls, andmatejuice extraction.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will beunderstood thatthe same is not to be limited wall the details shown, butis capable of modification and variation within the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a cane mill, means for feeding cane, and means for engaging andshredding the cane while being fed, said last named means comprisingarotary shaft, aseries of cutting knife blades carried on said shaft andextending outwardly therefrom, and clawlike means formed on said bladesadapted to hook into and shred cane.

2. In a cane mill, means for feedingcane,

and means for engaging and. shredding the cane, while being fed, saidlast named means comprising a rotary shaft, a series of knives mountedon said shaft, and extending outwardly therefrom, and notched cuttingedges on the forward or leading edges of said knives, each of said edgesbeing constructed to penetrate the cane along lines generally transverseto its direction of travel.

3. In a cane mill, means for feeding cane, and means for engaging andshredding the cane while being fed, said last named means comprising aseries of circumferentially spaced rotatable arms and a plurality ofclawlike teeth on the forward or leading edge of each of said arms tohook into and shred the cane.

4:. In a cane mill, means for feeding cane, and means for engaging andshredding the cane while being fed, said last named means comprising arotary shaft, a series of arms on said shaft extending outwardlythereupon, the outer ends of said arms being curved back from thedirection of movement of said arms, and a plurality of teeth on thecurved outer ends of each of said arms presenting shoulderssubtsantially normal to the leading surface of the arm. I

5. In a cane mill, means for feeding cane, and means for engaging andshredding the cane While being fed, said last named means comprising arotary shaft, a series of knives mounted on said shaft, and cuttingedges on said knives, there being angular notches in said cutting edges,each of saidnotcheshaving one side thereof substantially normal to theadjacent edge of said knife.

6. In a cane mill, means for feeding cane, and means for engaging andshredding the cane while being fed, said last named means comprising arotary shaft, and a series of knives extending outwardly therefrom, saidknives being provided with cutting edges, the outer ends of said cuttingedges being curved back from the direction of movement of said knives,there being a series of abrupt transverse ..:shredd'ing shoulders alongthe eurved portions of-rsaid cutt'ijng edges. I

27.;A shTedding device forcane millsy'comprising arotary shaft havingeirenniferentially spaced arms with reanw-ardlycurved n endsyandshredding teeth associated with said ends presenting shoulderssubstantially nor- :Hlill totheleading surfacesv ofthearms. a

8. A 4 cane disintegrating device comprising a plurality of revolvingarms having 75 generally transverse projections presenting clawlikeportions'ontheirleadingsurtaces to tear apart the cane stalks.

9. A cane disintegrating device comprising a pluralit-y ofarmsrevolvable as a:-unit and having clawllke 13014310115 facing towardthe-axis of revolution. I r I 10. A cane disintegrating device -.comp'rrsing aplurality of outwardly 'extending fiat' I-arms having acommonaxis of.rotation and presenting clawhke ,edge port ons to thecane. I H g 11. A device such as described, comprising a shaft,armssecuredto andextending out wardly therefrom and havin .free zouter;-,-,=

ends, .and abrupt cane sln'edding-shoulders on-the arms facingaway fromsaid free ends.

=12. A device such as described,-comprising .a-rotary shaft, anarmextendingoutwardly therefrom, and abruptoane shredding shoulg ders ofsome width extending transversely of the arm and-facing awayfrom thefree-end :thereof. 3 y I 18. A rotary cane disintegrating unitihav- 'ingan outwardlyextending arm with afreeyueo backwardly turned outer endportion, and'a-a plurality of clawlike projections associated with theleading edge of said back-wardly turned portion.

'14. A rotary cane .ing arms with free.backw-ardlyturned outer end-portions notched on their leading edges to present "a series of spaced1 cane-tearing shoulders facing away from the free Lends of the arms.

1 5. A rotary cane disintegratingiunit having arms with: free backwardlyturned outer end portions notched on their leading edges to present :aseries of spaced cane tearing shoulders :facing away from the freeendsofggiis the arms, said shoulders extending generally transverselyof thearm and being ofiappreciable width.

16. The combination witha travellingconveyor for feeding vabodyofcane,of-a de-ttli vice adjacent thepath oftravel ofsaidconveyorfor disintegratingthe passingcane-on the conveyor, salddevice.comprisingaseries of rotary arm members each havinglongitudinally spaced shoulders substantially fac-szi ing the axis ofrotation and presenting a plurality of canepenetrating "teeth.

17.;"Ihe combination with a cane shredding device comprising powerdriven members each having a series of clawlike caneitil-sodisintegrating unit hav- 1.195,

engaging and shredding projections, of a travelling conveyor'i forfeeding cane on "which E the cane is supported and shredded by "saidprojections while in transit.

l8}v The combination with a travelling cane-conveying belt, ofapowerdriven cane disintegrating device in a fixed position rela- I tively-to'thej-belt ifor action on the passing I "cane-on the upper belt face andhaving. a

10 series of angularlyf-notched clawlike cane shredding edge portionsarranged to be presented toward the belt and to move into and through aportion ofthec'ane body supported on'the beltb 'f i 5 19. A revolvingcane knife having a cane "cutting'edge portion presented in thedirectionoi cane travel andatransverse shred- .ding edgeportion. a

I QOJ AreVOlVing cane knife having a mar- V2 0 ginal 'portio'n reducedin thickness toward the extreme edge and provided with a plurality oftransverse shoulders facing away from the free end; 5

" 21. Arev0lving cane knife having a inarginal portion reduced inthickness toward 40 like projections.

the extreme edge, parts of said marginal portion presenting cuttingedges disposed .in the direction of cane travel, andother partspresenting a plurality of transverse cane shredding shoulders.

r 22. A revolving caneknife having a marginalportion presenting aplurality of longitudinal cutting edges and a plurality of transversecane shredding shoulders.

* 23; A revolvingcane knife 'bent back at the oute'r end,the-leadingedge toward the heel being shaped to cut in a lengthwisedirection only but the leading edge of the outer end portionpresenting'aplurality of claw- 24L A caneiknife' having its blade edgeprovided witha series of transverse cutting portionsand *a series'oflongitudinal cutting portions. i i i 25,A cane knife having its bladeedge provided with a series of transverse cutting portions and aseriesof longitudinal cutting portions, said portions alternating.

26. A cane knife blade having wide transverse shredding portions spacedalong its edge andiacing away from the blade tip.

27; The f combination with a rotary cane disintegrating unit having-amultiplicity of abrupt transverse shoulde rsat the periphery 55presenting clawlike elements for tearing apart the caneyof a travellingconveyor for feeding cane toand past said unit, a substantiallyflat-surface of said conveyor sup-y porting the- -cane while acted uponby said clawlike elements; I

I f In witnesswhereof; I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day ofSeptember, 1927.

'NORMAN KAY.

